i think my hair is 4b, ive always had natural hair but ive striaghtned my hair for years. but now that im wearing it with my natural curls im not sure what to do, my curls are dry and have no shine, plus i have some breakage, can i get some help please??? im clueless when it comes to being curly!

My hair does not naturally shine but it is health and has a nice sheen. To combat dryness moisturizing and protective styling is key with 4b hair. My twist outs are shiny and bouncy though my hair has minimal product in it (little conditioner and sunflower oil).

I wash about twice a week twist my hair and leave it alone for about two weeks (transitioning to a twist out during part of the second week). Experiment with it and have fun.

"You Tied that thing up outside?" said Kepler. "What if he got hungry and ate a mailman or a kindergarten class or something? The least you could do is tie a decent knot." Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry

Your question is a bit broad, so you might have some difficulty getting a lot of responses to this particular post (it's not that people aren't friendly/helpful here, but my goodness there's so much info that they may not know exactly where to start). If you're new to the site in general, you might want to start here:

Understand that not everyone on this site is strictly CG (some no poo, some love a sulfate cleanser on the daily; some avoid petroleum, some for grease; some scoff at the very idea of silicones, some won't detangle without 'em) . You will have to play around with a few techniques and products to find the right combination to suite your particular needs.

As for your dull hair/breakage:

1. Straight hair tends to reflect light (thus appearing glossy/shiny), but kinkier/curlier hair tends to refract light (which can give 4a/b hair a dull appearance). This doesn't necessarily mean that ALL 4a/b hair is damaged or dry, it's just the physical properties of our hair. If you want to boost the shine of your hair, you could try incorporating oils into your regimen--or buy a moisturizer with oil in it (this shouldn't be hard to do since most moisturizers have some sort of oil in them).

2. You will want to cut off the damaged hair (you can do that gradually or all in one chop). If you allow the hair to just break off, it will break off and form split ends which will just lead to more breakage in the long run. Try to keep the heat styling to a minimum for now. Experiment with defining your curls, twists, coils, braidouts, pony puffs, or a 'fro--basically, just try styles which do not require heat. Lastly, try doing a weekly deep conditioning treatment. If your hair feels brittle/dry, it could be because your hair lacks moisture.

I tried to make this a short post, but I get a little ranty sometimes. Hope this isn't too overwhelming.

I'm a shea moisture addict. But I recommend looking at product reviews to see what 4b's give high ratings to. I should probably be using miss jessies but my budget is not jessie friendly. She moisture got great ratings and from tge reviews I figured being lugjt handed is the key. I have some kinky curly knot today that I use to detangle but other than that it all shea moisture and a homemeade oil spray I use. I have a blog post about the products I'm using and styles I'm attempting. http://ihow2010.blogspot.com

I'm the same I started flat ironning in the 8th grade now I'm in the 11th and I just want to wear my natural hair without always wearing it in a ponytail like I did b4 straightening.my hair is collar bone when straightened and doesn't stay down when natural...like 2 years ago I did a 2 strand twist out and it looked great but I wore a crochet hat but that's like the only time I've ever worn it without a ponytail..too bad it only lasted for 1 day and I tried to do it but it was never the same.now that its longer its harder to do because my ends are heat damaged straight...I tried bantu knots and it didn't work....try a braid or twist out

Your question is a bit broad, so you might have some difficulty getting a lot of responses to this particular post (it's not that people aren't friendly/helpful here, but my goodness there's so much info that they may not know exactly where to start). If you're new to the site in general, you might want to start here:

Understand that not everyone on this site is strictly CG (some no poo, some love a sulfate cleanser on the daily; some avoid petroleum, some for grease; some scoff at the very idea of silicones, some won't detangle without 'em) . You will have to play around with a few techniques and products to find the right combination to suite your particular needs.

As for your dull hair/breakage:

1. Straight hair tends to reflect light (thus appearing glossy/shiny), but kinkier/curlier hair tends to refract light (which can give 4a/b hair a dull appearance). This doesn't necessarily mean that ALL 4a/b hair is damaged or dry, it's just the physical properties of our hair. If you want to boost the shine of your hair, you could try incorporating oils into your regimen--or buy a moisturizer with oil in it (this shouldn't be hard to do since most moisturizers have some sort of oil in them).

2. You will want to cut off the damaged hair (you can do that gradually or all in one chop). If you allow the hair to just break off, it will break off and form split ends which will just lead to more breakage in the long run. Try to keep the heat styling to a minimum for now. Experiment with defining your curls, twists, coils, braidouts, pony puffs, or a 'fro--basically, just try styles which do not require heat. Lastly, try doing a weekly deep conditioning treatment. If your hair feels brittle/dry, it could be because your hair lacks moisture.

I tried to make this a short post, but I get a little ranty sometimes. Hope this isn't too overwhelming.

I love shea moisture products. They are good as far as ingredients. They are avilable at local shops and are affordable. i would definitely start there. If I am not mistaken walgreens.com have then 2 for 16.99